Cheap Atari Anniversary Advanced (Video Games) (Game Boy Advance) Price

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Customer Reviews of Atari Anniversary Advanced

The Classics never die!
OK, classic gamers, if you've been holding off on getting that Gameboy Advance, you're running out of excuses! Atari Arcade Advance is a near-perfect gaming experience for those of us that used pump quarters into arcade machines back in the early 80's. All the translations are faithful, and the trivia game is pretty fun. I especially love being able to take TEMPEST with me anywhere! The only minor complaint I have is with the controls. The Gameboy's directional keypad makes trackball games like MISSILE COMMAND and CENTIPEDE a bit problematic. But you'll get used to it, and there's really no reason not to add this to your collection.

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Disappointing
I was eagerly anticipating being able to play some of my favorite arcade games from the early 1980s. Unfortunately, the reality of playing them on a Gameboy is sorely disappointing.

The trackball-based games, Centipede and Missile Command, are the biggest letdowns. Using the Gameboy's directional control to emulate a trackball just doesn't work. Centipede works adequately at first, but the inability to make swift moves quickly becomes a handicap. Missile Command is just unplayable. In the arcade version I would typically get a five-figure score; on the Gameboy I'm lucky to make it past the first level.

Battlezone is okay, but the small screen makes targeting much too difficult. I never played Super Breakout in the arcades, but as with Missile Command, the awkward controls make it nearly impossible. Asteroids and Tempest are probably the most successful of the bunch, but that isn't saying much.

The Atari trivia game is just bizarre. Do people really know the names of Atari's designers?

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Back to the Future! 20 years ago!
Remember when video games were in the arcades, and you had a pocket full of quarters? When Chuck E. Cheese was your favorite restaurant, and Aladdin's Castle was a place to hang out not a locale in a Disney flick? If you do this game is for you! In it you will find faithful reproductions of Asteroids, Battlezone, Centipede, Missile Command, Super Breakout, and Tempest. No updates, no "arrangements", just straight up video games from the early 80s.

Most people have noticed the controls are an issue, and I agree they do hinder you sometimes. Missle Command and Centipede were designed for a track ball, and Super Breakout really needs a paddle. Using the directional pad takes some getting used to. I ended up playing this more on my GameBoy Player for the GameCube which made them a little easier.

But fans of these now primitive games/then innovative will be glad to see them again in any form. The games are simple and immediately playable and addictive. I am a fan of the retro games, and this package has some great ones. I love being able to play ASTEROIDS just as it was in the arcades - a bunch of white lines on a black screen with just a bass line going the whole time! Even the Atari 2600 improved on it with color!

You have to see this for what it is - the dawn of video games. Its nostalgia, a living museum where you can go back to a time when video games were mainly in arcades. You won't see dazzling graphics or complicated missions to complete. Mainly geometric shapes firing dots at each other. :-) But for some reason I love the games for being simple. Just shoot and stay alive as long as you can. And no tokens!